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Chapter 70

Translation

Our words are very easy to know, very easy to do.
Under heaven none can know, none can do.
Speech has its faction, involvement has its sovereign.
Man alone is without knowing, and because of this I don’t know.
Knowing self is rare, following self is noble.
Because of this, the sage wears coarse cloth and yearns for noble character.

Third Pass: Chapter of the Month8/10/2015

Corrections?

There are no corrections per se. At the end of Reflections, I include some of the Word-for-Word this time to broaden the meaning of my particular choice of words. That way, you may adjust the meaning to suit.

Reflections:

Is this chapter prepping us for the bluntly-stated disease referred to in the next chapter? Well, many previous chapters prep us for that as well, starting with the first one. Of course, the whole Tao Te Ching is addressing the core problems we incur through civilization, or that civilization exacerbates.

In reading the ethnographic literature on the hunter-gatherer theold way(1) , I was struck by how much their approach to life mirrors the core spiritual ideals that religions (and the Tao Te Ching) promulgate and prescribe. Now, from a symptoms point of view, that makes total sense. The advent of religion coincides with the advent of agriculture and civilization, resulting in the subsequent loss of our ancestral old way. Religions are just a makeshift substitute for that loss.

Our words are very easy to know, very easy to do.
Under heaven none can know, none can do.

With civilization came the exponential rise in formal knowledge, writing, literature, etc. All aim at ‘nailing down’ reality. Certainly, this is not because it is possible to accomplish, but more as a symptom of what deeper intuitive sense of life we have lost through trading theold way for civilization.

Speech has its faction, involvement has its sovereign.

A sense of clearly established hierarchy is essential for civilization to function, and manage large populations. Speech has always played a huge role in that, although less now with the democratizing influences in modern life—most the result of the Electric Revolution. Speech also bolsters group identity of each faction—pseudo tribe—existing within the larger civilization.

Man alone is without knowing, and because of this I don’t know.
Knowing self is rare, following self is noble.

Civilization prevents us from developing the innate sense of self possible in humanity’s ancestral old way. So, naturally, knowing self is rare, or at least rarer. Thinking was a problem long before civilization arose. Although, I assume that the simplicity of theold way made it far more manageable. Seeing beyond the ideal-self that civilization’s stories promulgate allows for ‘following self is noble’. Realizing I don’t’ know is better since trusting civilization’s ideal-self centers on knowing its story is true (i.e., belief). You can’t be free to follow self as long as you trust the ideal-self into which civilization indoctrinated you from birth onward.

Because of this, the sage wears coarse cloth and yearns for noble character.

As fascination with the intricacies that civilization cultivates begins to fade, all that is left is natural simplicity. I see yearning for noble character as living as close to natural simplicity as possible. Realizing that there is no alternative makes this easy and natural, albeit, still work. After all, life is work from the beating of my heart on up.

Second Pass: Work in Progress7/24/2012

Issues:

I don’t include all the various meanings of a character if there are a whole slew of them. Instead, I narrow the selection down to fit the context as best I can. I suppose line 3 and 6 would make more sense by including more. Also, in line 6, replacing cherishes pure with yearns for noble character might help it make more sense.

There is more to this last character though. Jade also symbolizes the idea of (君子) jūnzǐ, a man of noble character; gentleman. A Google search offers up more background:

“In the same manner that gold and diamonds are highly treasured in the West, the Chinese regard jade stone with a special significance. There is a Chinese saying that goes, “Gold has a value; jade is invaluable”. Jade stone was used in fashioning expensive and sophisticated objects and cult figures. It was also used extensively in furnishings for prominent members of the imperial family. The importance of Jade stone in Chinese culture is reflected in its status as a symbol of goodness, preciousness and beauty. To the Chinese, jade stone is also the embodiment of the Confucian virtues of courage, wisdom, modesty, justice and compassion. The polish and brilliance of jade stone is considered by the Chinese to be representative of purity while its compactness and hardness reflect intelligence. Justice is represented by its angles and the sound produced by it when it is struck is a symbol of music. The color of jade stone depicts loyalty while its flaws reflect sincerity. The Chinese also value jade stone because of its brightness; representing heaven, while its substance is representative of the earth. ”

Commentary:

I think of speech has its faction as referring to the agenda that always underlies speech. The ulterior motive as it were of both speaker and listener. As listeners, we tend to interpret what we hear in line with what we’re needing (or fearing) to hear. To pause and first consider where the speaker is ‘coming from’, (the needs or fears that drive their outlook) helps decrease misunderstanding.

Involvement has its sovereign is similar to speech has its faction, but refers more to the broader way we approach life. I considered replacing involvement with responsibility, but decided not to, for now. (If only changing words could eliminate misinterpretations.) I regard has its sovereign as referring to the end goals we seek. That goal is the supreme ruler of our involvement. This is why it is so helpful to know what you truly want of life. It helps my involvement in life flow without regret or guilt. When I’m in touch with what I truly want, I can’t help but ‘do’ life headed in that direction. It is easy. When I lose touch with what I truly want, my involvement’ssovereign downgrades to become short-term, self-interest. This always ends poorly, in pain or disillusion.

Knowing this state of affairs, I am more aware of the fragile nature of self, i.e., the ego is a precarious illusion. Sobered up, I’m able to follow self instead of having ego lead my life’s involvement. Dedicating a tiny corner of my mind to constantly recall that I am above all else an animal also helps. This means accepting the fact that like all animals, I am without free will. In other words, I am merely a servant of nature. (Likewise, anyone who seriously believes in God may see themselves as merely a servant of God.) Therefore, more than anything, I yearn for noble character. This sounds a little schizophrenic, and it is. That is the downside consequence of human cognition… we’re all at least a little bit schizoid. ;- ( Everything has a price.

Suggested Revision:

Our words are very easy to know, very easy to do.
Under heaven none can know, none can do.
Speech has its faction, involvement has its sovereign.
Man alone is without knowing, and because of this I don’t know.
Knowing self is rare, following self is noble.
Because of this, the sacred person wears coarse cloth and yearns fornoble character.

First Pass: Chapter of the Week05/25/2011

Every so often the tonal nature of Chinese gives a curious twist, especially in something as out-there as the Tao Te Ching. I’ve been using the rising tone meaning of wei (?): only, alone, for this character. Although sometime it doesn’t makes a lot of sense. The dipping tone of this character means ‘yea’ which I’ve avoided using. This time I’m going to go with the third tone meaning which gives us this: Man, yea, is without knowing… etc. . Alone or only would also work, but this puts more pizazz into the statement… yea!

[Update: I went back to my tried and true rising tone meaning, only, alone. This conforms to how it is generally used. Another point I’d add here is how 夫fu (man, husband) took on a more ‘sage like’ meaning in the old day. Altogether this makes the line say something closer to, The sage alone doesn’t know, and so I don’t know. Boy, you can say that again!]

Speech has its faction alludes to how speech is symptomatic of some deeper faction (tribal agenda, motive, aim). It helps to not take words at face value, but instead peek under the hood of motivation to ponder what emotion the words spring from. A similar process applies to involvement in living. Underlying emotional needs and fears influence all action(1) whether speech or involvement. Seeing those underlying influences, in one’s self and in others, can be helpful if not enlightening. Fear and need drive action, making us do what we actually do, in spite of what we may otherwise imagine doing. Our mind’s ‘ideal world’ is boundless. We think we (and especially others) can “just do it”, in the vein of free will. Truth be told, we are at the mercy of the fears and needs felt in our reptilian brain. The only possible influence I have comes through knowing — moment to moment — how little free will I actually have. Accepting this prods me to see and understand what is going on behind the scenes: Only then is complete conformity realized. Such knowing self, following self is the only way I’ve found to accomplish [my] private ends.

With a slightly different choice of word meaning, ‘Speech has its faction’ becomes ‘Words have an ancestor’. This points to what underpins word meaning. In learning other languages I’ve found that emotion holds the key. Feeling the emotion source-spring of a word make it ‘native’ (intuitive, fluent). Without that emotional connection to the sound of a word, the word is merely noise. Any meaning it conveys actually resides how it translates to my native English. I stop translating only when I feel the meaning emotionally(2).

Seen in this light, the idea that Our words are very easy to know, very easy to do. Under heaven none can know, none can do may make more sense. The emotion that gives a word meaning for me can often not be (or never be?) the same emotion you feel when hearing me say that word. Being in agreement only means we each trust we are, not that we actually are. It is somewhat surreal. A parallel of this occurs with color, what we each sense when we hear that something is blue can be quite different, especially if I am somewhat color blind in the blue end of the spectrum. Obviously the less concrete the words, the more no one in the world can understand them. Instead, we read into the words what we need (or fear) to hear.

(1) All action (or inaction) can be traced back to fear. Fear, as I define it, is our intuitive dread of entropy (loss, failure, death). This underlies the survival instinct in all living things. It is the subtle underbelly (cause) of the fear-based reactions (effects) with which we usually picture fear. See Fear Is The Bottom Line, Reward, Fear & Need, Fear Rules, and perhaps the glossary in One who speaks does not know?

(2) This also applies to understanding and/or translating the Tao Te Ching. The reader can only understand what they already know intuitively within. That intuitive feeling you bring to the words is what gives it meaning. That is why understanding deepens over time as circumstance bring us to maturity. In other words, the Tao Te Ching’s point-of-view is deeper and broader than any words used to convey it. Words can never do it justice. This is what separates timeless words (usually scripture) from the rest.